The Grand Master of France or Grand Maître de France was, during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and head of the "Maison du Roi", the king's royal household. The position was called Souverain Maître d'hôtel du Roi until 1380 and Grand Maître d'hôtel du Roi until 1463. The position is roughly equivalent to the positions of Lord Steward and Master of the Household in the United Kingdom. Ancien Régime, a French term meaning Former Regime, but rendered in English as Old Rule, Old Order, or simply Old Regime, refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ... Following the ouster of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne. ... The Great Officers of the Crown were appointed by the King of France and there were seven all told. ... La Maison du Roi (House of the King) is a French Army Household Cavalry regiment. ... almLord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household, in England, an important official of the Royal Household. ... The Master of the Household is the operational head of the below stairs elements of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. ...

Duties

The position was a successor to the earlier positions of Mayor of the Palace and Seneschal of France. One of the highest posts in the French court, the "Grand maître" directed the Maison du Roi, appointed new officers to the "Maison" (who would swear an oath of service in his hands) and managed the budget of the "Maison". He was also responsible for policing the court and he managed the king's lands (which made him a sort of Minister of the Interior). In practice however, the military branch of the Maison du Roi was frequently run by the Constable of France or the Secretary of State for War. Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also known by the Latin name, maior domus or majordomo, used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries. ... A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. ... La Maison du Roi (House of the King) is a French Army Household Cavalry regiment. ... The Constable of France (French connétable de France, from Latin comes stabulari for count of the stables), as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and Commander in Chief of...

The symbol of the "Grand maître" was his golden baton, given to him by the king, and his coat of arms featured two crossed batons behind the shield. The word BATON, from the French bâton (stick, also in ordinary senses), indicates a type of formal attribute of office in the shape of a rather short stick, shorter then a staff, not destined for functional use (unlike the swagger stick) but as an ornate symbol of authority, often... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...

He had numerous ceremonial duties. At the death of the king he would lead the funeral procession and, at the king's tomb, he would break his baton, throw it into the tomb and intone "Gentlemen, the King is dead; you are free from his service"; he would then take a new baton and intone "Gentlemen, the King is alive and gives you your positions."

The position was frequently given to the highest of the nobility and the king's close friends. François I gave the position to his former teacher Artus Gouffier, then to his uncle René de Savoie, the "grand bâtard de Savoie", then to his friend Anne de Montmorency. In 1559, with the forced demission of Montmorency, the position fell into the hands of the Dukes of Lorraine, who used the positions to increase their influence in the court, to such a point that Henri III forced Henry I, Duke of Guise to cut-back on his responsibilities. In 1594, the position passed into the control of the House of Bourbon and the Princes of Condé, who maintained control until the French Revolution (except for the period 1654–1656). The nobility (la noblesse) in France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period had specific legal and financial rights and prerogatives (the first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI of France after 1440), including exemption from paying the taille (except for non... Francis I of France - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Anne, First Duke of Montmorency (March 15, 1493 – November 12, 1567), was a soldier and constable of France. ... January 15 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey. ... The Duchy of Lorraine was an independent state for most of the period of time between 843 to 1739. ... Henry III (French: Henri III; Polish: Henryk III Walezy; September 19, 1551 - August 2, 1589) was King of Poland (1573-1574) and subsequently King of France (1574-1589). ... Henry I, Duke of Guise Coat of arms of the Duke of Guise Henry, 3rd Duke of Guise (January 31, 1550 – December 23, 1588, Château de Blois), sometimes called Le Balafré, the scarred, was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise and Anna dEste. ... Events February 27 - Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims. ... Also see:  Early Modern France The House of Bourbon is an important European royal house. ... Prince of Condé (named after Condé-en-Brie, in the Aisne département) is a title in French peerage, originally granted to Louis of Bourbon, brother of Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome and uncle of Henry IV of France. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a vital period in the history of France and Europe as a whole. ...

In the Early Modern period, most of the real work of the Grand maître was accomplished by his secretaries, and not by himself personally. His role was thus generally symbolic, although he often took personal charge of his ceremonial duties. Furthermore, with the creation of the Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi in the 16th century, the Grand maître was forced to share some of his duties: in general the Secretary's oversight was purely formal, as the officers of the "Maison du Roi" were under the direct authority of the Grand Maître of France; yet, the "Secrétaire d'État à la Maison du Roi" was in charge of recruiting officers for the "Maison du Roi", and would receive prospective applications for posts and submit them to the king for his approval. Early Modern France is the portion of French history that falls in the early modern period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance to the eve of the French Revolution). ...

Grand Masters of France

• ca. 1300: Arnould de Wesemal
• 1310: Mathieu II de Trie
• 1321: Jean de Beaumont († ca. 1344)
• 1343: Gui de Ceriz († 1369)
• 1347: Robert III de Dreux (1288-1351)
• ca. 1350: Jean I de Châtillon († 1363)
• ca. 1350: Jean II de Melun († 1381)
• ca. 1350: Pierre I de Villiers († ca.1390)
• ca. 1350: Gui IV Damas (1288-1351)
• ca. 1380: Jean le Mercier
• 1388-1408: Jean de Montagu († 1409)
• 1408-1409: Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria (ca. 1368-1447)
• 1409-1413: Guichard II († 1415)
• 1413-1422: Louis, Count of Vendôme (1376-1446)
• 1422-1440: Tanguy du Chastel († 1449)
• 1440-1451: Charles de Culant († ca.1451)
• 1451-1453: Jacques de Chabannes († 1453)
• 1456-1461: Raoul de Gaucourt († 1461)
• 1463: Antoine I de Croÿ (1385-1475)
• 1465-1467: Charles Ier de Melun († 1468)
• 1467: Antoine de Chabannes (1411-1488)
• ca. 1483: François Guy XV, comte de Laval and comte de Monfort (1435-1500)
• 1485-ca. 1496 : Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
• 1502-1511: Charles d'Amboise (1473-1511)
• 1511-1515: Jacques II de Chabannes and de La Palice (ca.1470-1525)
• 1515-1519: Artus Gouffier († 1519)
• 1519-1525: René of Savoy, comte de Villars († 1525)
• 1526-1558: Anne de Montmorency (1492-1567)
• 1558-1559: François de Montmorency († 1579)
• 1559-1563: François de Lorraine, duc de Guise (1520-1563)
• 1563-1588: Henry I, Duke of Guise (1550-1588)
• 1588-1594: Charles, Duke of Guise (1571-1640)
• 1594-1612: Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons (1566-1612)
• 1612-1641: Louis de Bourbon, comte de Soissons (1604-1641)
• 1643-1646: Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1588-1646)
• 1647-1654(?): Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé, "le Grand Condé" (1621-1686)
• 1654-1656: Thomas François de Savoie, prince de Carignan (1596-1656)
• 1656-1660: Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti (1629-1666)
• 1660-1685: Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1643-1709)
• 1685-1710: Louis III, prince de Condé (1668-1710)
• 1710-1740: Louis Henri, duc de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1692-1740)
• 1740-1790 and 1814-1818: Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1736-1818)

Duke Louis VII of Bavaria (20. ... Louis of Bourbon-La Marche (1376 – December 21, 1446, Tours), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was Count of Vendôme from 1393 until his death. ... Philip II (1438-1497), surnamed the Landless was the Duke of Savoy for the brief reign from 1496 to 1497. ... 1507 portrait by Andrea Solario. ... Jacques de la Palice or la Palisse (1470–1525) was a French nobleman and military officer. ... Anne, First Duke of Montmorency (March 15, 1493 – November 12, 1567), was a soldier and constable of France. ... François, Duc de Montmorency (1530 - 1579), was the eldest son of the first Duc de Montmorency, Anne. ... Francis, Duke of Guise Francis II, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Duke of Aumale (February 17, 1519 – February 24, 1563), called Balafré (the scarred), was a French soldier and politician. ... Henry I, Duke of Guise Coat of arms of the Duke of Guise Henry, 3rd Duke of Guise (January 31, 1550 – December 23, 1588, Château de Blois), sometimes called Le Balafré, the scarred, was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise and Anna dEste. ... Charles, 4th Duke of Guise (Joinville, August 20, 1571 – Cuna, September 30, 1640) was the son of Henry I, Duke of Guise and Catherine of Cleves. ... Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons (1566-1612), prince of France, was the son of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé and his second wife Françoise de Longueville-Rothelin. ... Louis de Bourbon, comte de Soissons (1604-1641) was the son of Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons and Anne de Montafié. He was the 2nd cousin of King Louis XIII of France. ... Henry II of Bourbon (September 1, 1588 – December 26, 1646) became Prince of Condé shortly after his birth, following the death of his father Henry I in battle. ... Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (September 8, 1621 – November 11, 1686) was the most celebrated representative of Princes de Condé and one of the most brilliant generals of the 17th century. ... Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti (1629 – 1666) was the second son of Henry II, prince de Condé and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Anne Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville. ... Louis Henri Joseph was the seventh Prince of Condé. Louis Henri Joseph, Duc de Bourbon et dEnghien, Prince de Condé (August 18, 1692 – January 27, 1740) was head of the cadet Bourbon-Condé wing of the French royal house from 1710 to his death. ...

References

• This article is a translation of the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on August 15, 2006.

• Bernard Barbiche, Les Institutions de la monarchie française à l’époque moderne, XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles, Presses universitaires de France, coll. « Premier cycle », 2001 (2nd edition). ISBN 2-13-051940-7
• Jean-François Solnon, La Cour de France, Livre de Poche, coll. « Références », 1996 (1st edition 1987). ISBN 2-253-90439-2

The French Wikipedia is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelled Wikipédia. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• List (in French) of the Grands maîtres